The people of Tampa Bay have fallen prey to Pirate invasion every year for well over 100 years. After more than a century of failing to repel these seafaring raiders in their anachronistic wooden ships, it occurred to the folks of Cigar City Brewing that if you can’t beat them start saying Arrrr Matey! And so they brewed Invasion Pale Ale, a citrusy and tropical session beer brewed for those long days of marauding, pillaging and pirating.

One would expect pale ale to be more balanced, but these days those distinctions have become muddled. This is a hoppy beer with a fresh, West Coast aroma of hops, at once both resinous and citric. The beer pours a slightly hazy, pale golden with a pretty white head. The flavor is dominated by the hops and those hops taste good: grassy, grapefruity, maybe some tropical notes, like mango and passion fruit. The malt has a wispy sweetness that does not quite achieve balance with the hops, but still adds to the overall character and flavor. This is a polished beer from Florida, if not a perfectly balanced American Pale Ale, and would work well on any beach.